Wednesday, 14 April 2010

State government more important for Bread and Butter issues

Zaid is right. The state government is more important for bread andbutter issues.If the voters are only interested in bread and butter issues such asland titles and garbage collection, then since PKR is the currentstate government, no matter what the result of the MP election is, anBN MP will not help them at all. It will make it worse.

This is confirmed by the voters comments in this article.

Why on Earth Sabahan MPs be so scared in crossing over to any partythey wish at the MP level when the people already got the stategovernment that they want?

sabah already got the BN, touted as more Islamic than PKR that had tosleep with the racist DAP, as the State Government. As normal breadand butter issues are handled by the State Government, why not toppleBN at the Federal Level in favour of someone who can give more grantsto Sabah State Government directly, i.e. PR.

The total grants may be the same as pointed out by Musa Aman, but itwon't solve the bread and butter issues of the State since it ishandled by the Federal Government, not the State Government.

What sort of stupid arguments that Sabahans had succumbled to, to thepoint that Sabah is now confirmed as the poorest, not only in Malaysiabut the whole world, despite having such immense natural resources andnatural beauty.

KUALA KUBU BARU: Barisan Nasional sees an easy battle now that PKR isfielding former minister Zaid Ibrahim as its candidate for the HuluSelangor parliamentary by-election.

For one, Zaid is not a local boy, and so he is not in touch with localissues which the upcoming by-election is expected to focus on. Worsestill, he may not be able to blend with the locals, some voters heresay.

The semi-urban voters of the constituency are mostly working infactories, plantations and their own land and bread-and-butter issuesare their daily worries. National issues, which Zaid is fond of andwhich brought him into the limelight, are treated as "extraneous" anddo not concern them.

"I heard of him (Zaid). PKR members told me he is a righteous man.It's good but what we want here is someone who can relate to us,someone who can help us solve our local problems such as licensing,garbage collection, developing the town so that our business cangrow," said one shop owner here.

But PKR de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim probably has other plans forZaid. Anwar may be looking at the larger picture: Zaid is not just aman representing 64,500 voters; more importantly, he is someone whocan be a great asset in Parliament to address the bigger issues.

While Anwar probably wants Zaid to be a national player as an MP, themain concern for the party now is how to sell Zaid to the localvoters. The 198-majority votes garnered by the late Zainal AbidinAhmad in the 2008 general election was "unreal" because it reflectedmore a general anti-government sentiment than a liking for PKR,according to folks here.

"The late Zainal Abidin was an intellectual but he came across as apeople's man whom the semi-urban voters could relate to. He was simpleand down-to-earth.

"We thought PKR would have picked a local man but instead it chose aprominent personality, someone we find difficult to communicate with,"she said, with two friends nodding in agreement.

For BN, the early prediction of an uphill battle has now ceased as itsees Zaid a candidate with "loads of baggage".

"It is good for us that PKR is fielding Zaid. It will be a pleasure tofight him here. Our chances of winning are better now since he haslots of baggage with him," said Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

The Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister believes thatZaid's past disciplinary problems when he was in Umno will be hisundoing.

Other BN MPs shared similar sentiments: the field is clear now and thegoal post is wide open for a good shot; there is no need for apenalty.

Despite BN's "feel good" sentiment, the ruling coalition is notwithout problems. With just two days to go for the coalition to nameits candidate, squabbles within the MIC may just blow away BN'schances of walking away with the coveted prize, come April 25.

Former three-time MP G Palanivel is still being pushed hard by partypresident S Samy Vellu while the preferred choice among Umno divisionmembers is MIC deputy Youth chief V Mugilan.

Whoever the candidate is, some local folks said they would preferlocal boy Mugilan who is known to be affable and easy to get alongwith.

The ball is now in BN's court: it must field a suitable candidate whocan win the hearts and minds of the local people. More importantly, hemust be someone who can effectively serve the people after the battleis over.

If BN fields the wrong candidate, then PKR may romp home with a biggermajority.